


You've Got To Know When To Hold 'Em

by Vexie



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Child Abuse, Child Death, Father-Son Relationship, Piracy, vague spoilers for vol 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-11-02 00:30:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10933218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vexie/pseuds/Vexie
Summary: Yondu should not have taken that first job. He knew that. But he did. He took the first, and the second, and all of them jobs, and look where it got him. In deep shit with a kid he doesn't know what to do with.





	You've Got To Know When To Hold 'Em

**Author's Note:**

> For those in the know, Algernon is coming. I promise it is.  
> But I saw Vol 2 about a week and a half ago and Blue Space Dad has consumed my consciousness. C O N S U M E D. I haven't been hit this hard and fast by a fandom in a very long time. (Granted, I loved him in the first movie and tried hard not to but here we are) 
> 
> So this is my garbage tribute from my garbage can brain in hopes that my brain will calm down. 
> 
> I have not yet decided whether this is going to be a one-off as it is, or if it'll be a series of shorts that I'm sitting on. Let me know in the comments what you think.
> 
> *Formatting errors fixed. No idea what that was about. Sheesh.

Yondu shouldn't have taken the first job and he knew he shouldn't have taken the first job. Hell, _everyone_ knew he shouldn't have taken the first job. They thought he didn't notice, but Yondu saw the sideways glances his crew gave each other when he told them what the job was for. For all the unspeakable things Ravagers did (and the list of those was damn long), there were some things that were just plain taboo. Kids were one of 'em. Regular slave trade was frowned upon, but it didn't earn you anything but whispers behind your back. But kids? Damnation to anyone who even considered it. And given Yondu's personal history, it wasn't ever something he'd considered.

But there were two factors at play. One of them, he'd told his crew in full.

This Ego guy was paying money for this job. _Big_ money. He _really_ wanted these kids. 

The other reason was that this guy struck a chord in the Ravager captain's own twisted heart with his query. This guy was some big powerful rich _celestial_ with everything in the world--hell, he _was_ his own planet. But he lived there by himself. These kids he wanted were _his_ kids. Ego left his home to explore the universe he watched form, he said. On all these planets the guy fell in love (boring), made children (fun), and moved on (asshole). When he learned that some of them were in bad conditions, well, he just had to do something. 

Slavin' kids was one thing, but this guy wanted to bring his kids home where he could spoil them and give them a good life. You know. Everything Yondu secretly wished for as a slave to the Kree army. His own biological father sold him like a dog in a cage for some stupid amount of money when he was just a kid. He didn't want to admit that there was a small part of that little snot-nosed brat that wished more than anything his asshole of a father had come back for him. And no amount of torture would ever lead him to reveal that he'd spent sleepless nights staring at what stars he could see, hoping he would come and take Yondu home. So yeah, he had a soft spot for this father who actually _wanted_ his offspring. Again, not that this was public knowledge.

What Yondu had said to his crew was that they weren't _actually_ breaking the code since they were basically just picking these kids up from school and taking 'em home. That, plus the money, quickly convinced his crew to go along with the job.

The first few jobs soothed any fears Yondu'd had. The kids seemed excited when they found out where they were headed. Just like Ego had said, they weren't living in great conditions to begin with. Yondu picked these kids up off the streets or out of bad homes and took 'em to this magical place with pretty flowers and bright blue skies and a big fancy palace. It was like some disgusting dream. When he dropped them off, Ego (always appearing different) was there to greet them with open arms and a string of promises about their new life with him. Every single time, it was a whole heartwarming affair. Children were embraced. Tears were shed. Everybody lived happily ever after.

Honestly, it was almost too charitable of a work for hardened Ravagers like Yondu and his crew to do. If the money hadn't been so good, they would have dropped it. But the money from Ego's jobs bought upgrades for the _Eclector_ and his crew's smaller ships, better weapons, and (of course) plenty of pleasures at various ports.

The jobs weren't very often and were low-risk breaks from the stuff they usually ended up being hired to do by their usual clientele. It was easy money.

 

Yondu didn't think twice about what they were doing until the twins. That was the first time he'd had to bring someone else onto Ego's planet for the drop. Usually, he handled the transactions himself, as he preferred to do with big buyers. He'd picked Kraglin to accompany him on this mission. The Xandarin was pretty good with kids--he wasn't much more than on himself (no matter what the boy said, there was no way he was more than 12 or 13 standard years when he'd asked Yondu to take him on. But there had been something about the scrawny kid doing his best to stand at a strong attention that Yondu hadn't been able to turn down.) and they seemed to like him. Yondu had also picked him because out of everyone on the ship, Kraglin hadn't put up a big fit when volunteers had been requested.

The twins had been rabid brats from the minute he'd brought them aboard. The whole trip had had Yondu's men chasing them around until eventually they just stuck them in a cell where they screamed and fought with each other like wild animals. To be fair, Yondu wasn't so sure they _weren't_ wild animals. They had tufts of black and red fur along the backs of their arms and legs, slitted eyes, and very, very sharp teeth. They climbed the walls of the cell and hissed at any crew member that walked by. Ego, Yondu thought, must have very _eccentric_ tastes in women. 

But that was none of his business.

Yondu took the one that was supposedly the girl and Kraglin wrestled the alleged boy into a somewhat awkward march down the short ramp from the M-ship they'd taken down to the planet's surface. As usual, the _Eclector_ waited in orbit while the transaction took place. Kraglin took the planet's surface in with no little awe. He almost lost his charge a couple of times due to his staring at the various flowers, bubbles, or other strange sights.

"Hey, look," he tried saying to the struggling child. "Look how great this place is, yeah? Look at all this wide open space you'll have to play in. You guys can hunt each other all day long here. Just behave, and all this is yours."

Yondu chuckled to himself, shaking his head as the little monster tried to bite Kraglin for the fifth time in as many minutes. Fortunately, Kraglin was too fast for him. Usually. 

Ego strode toward them, this time wearing a huge mane of red and black hair (fur?) and the same patterns of fur on his arms.

"Ah, children! You've made it home at last!" He cried happily. The two children stopped struggling and looked at him curiously.

"This is your daddy, y'all can go bite him, now, and leave my men alone," Yondu said, shoving the girl forward. Kraglin released the boy and took a few quick steps backward, ready to defend himself. But the two demonic children approached Ego cautiously. Ego laughed.

"Rough trip?" He asked Yondu. He held his arms out, as if he expected the kids to sniff him or something. They circled him curiously, making questioning growls in his direction.

"Half my crew has bite marks from them two," Yondu said flatly. "You'd best keep them off from the others if you don't want trouble." 

For a moment, Ego's brow furrowed, eyes going distant.

"Others..." He murmured, then his face lit up again. "Oh, yes, of course! Good advice."

He laughed again.

"Their mother was quite the wild woman. Their home planet was a very fun place to visit. I expect they'll enjoy it here, too," he said.

Yondu watched him closely. What was _that_? It had almost seemed like Ego had _forgotten_ about the-how many was it now? Some twenty or so kids that should have been running around. And where were they, for that matter? They weren't too far from Ego's palace. Yondu realized with a jolt that he'd never seen a single one of 'em since he'd dropped them off. Not that it really mattered what happened after the job was through. Nonetheless, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up like they did when a job started going south.

Maybe they were all inside. Y'know. Didn't want to overwhelm the new kids with a huge entourage of siblings or whatever. Yondu pushed the questions out of his mind. But as the transaction finished, Yondu couldn't shake the feeling that bad was just around the corner.

As they walked back to the ship, Kraglin looked around thoughtfully. The awe had worn off and the Xandarin's face held a slight frown. Yondu paid attention to that, too.

"What's eatin' you, boy?" He asked.

Kraglin glanced behind him. Ego was already walking back to his palace, two wild children following him like eager puppies. 

"Something about this place don't sit right," he said, voice low. "I thought it was pretty at first but it seems too...too much like a fairytale, you know? The whole planet seems like the perfect dream for these kids. And that guy...I dunno, Sir. Just don't sit right."

Yondu nodded without comment. He agreed; something was definitely off.

 

The next few times they delivered, Yondu kept his eyes open. He had one of his boys run scans on the planet from the orbit. See if they could find anything out of the ordinary. He watched Ego carefully. The man was true to his name--entirely absorbed in self and what great things he was promising the little munchkins Yondu was bringing him. He never mentioned any of the other ones. The first few should be half grown by now, Yondu guessed. But Ego never once said anything about them, no matter how Yondu tried to casually bring them up.

 

"What do we know?" Yondu asked Static after one drop. The tech whiz pushed black and silver braids out of his eyes.

"Biologically speaking, the whole thing don't make sense," he said.

"What do you mean?" Yondu asked.

"Look, sir," Static said, pointing at his screens. "These trees are from Centauri. But the grasses are from a planet halfway across the galaxy. This entire land mass comes from Vega. It's like he just made it up."

"There are billions of planets, Static. Stuff can look the same," Yondu said skeptically.

Static frowned and shook his head.

"Not like this," he said. "That land mass wasn't _there_ last time. This planet never looks the same every time we come here." 

Yondu crossed his arms and frowned, but didn't comment. He hadn't openly shared the information that Ego _was_ the planet. 

"There's something else, sir," Static said. "The planet's porous...practically hollow. There isn't really any indication of a solid core or a molten core...it sounds like there's nothing there. But there's a huge energy reading there. Sometimes it spikes, but then dies off again."

 _The center of Ego_ , Yondu thought to himself, but didn't voice his thoughts. Instead, he clapped Static on the shoulder.

"Keep an eye on that planet for me," he said.

 

Nisha was the beginning of the end. She was a solemn, curious girl with vivid purple skin and burning orange eyes. She had questions about everything Yondu did, and to tell the truth, he didn't mind. She was a sharp kid of about maybe 11 or 12 standard years. 

"But how does it _work_?" She asked, holding his Yaka arrow, tossing it up lightly, trying to get it to fly for her. They'd run into some old...friends of his on the way. Yondu had shut her in her bunk but she didn't stay put. Now she was fascinated with his weapon of choice. 

"You can't figure it out?" Yondu asked, watching her carefully. Nisha frowned at him, then tossed the arrow up in the air and whistled at it as hard as she could. The arrow clattered to the ground. Several of the men on the bridge snickered until Yondu gave them a look. 

"Now you watch," he said. "Watch me." 

He reached for the part of his consciousness that was always aware of his connection with the Yaka Arrow. The control panel "fin" installed directly into his neural pathways lit to life as he took a breath and let out a small whistle. The arrow leapt from the floor and hovered in midair. Nisha's eyes studied the arrow. She reached out to touch it, but pulled back before Yondu had to say anything. Her fiery eyes traveled to Yondu's face. He took some small satisfaction from the minute movement in her face as the connection clicked for her. 

"It's you. It responds to you! Is this a power of your race?" Nisha asked, pointing at his head. Yondu laughed.

"Nah, this is somethin' I picked up a while back," he said. He whistled a short tune. The arrow somersaulted in the air, then circled the room slowly. 

"You weren't born with that thing on your head?" Nisha asked.

"Of course not. Don't be stupid. See--" Yondu started, but he stopped, suddenly aware of where he was and what he was doing. 

No, this was a bad idea. Yondu gave a short whistle and his arrow returned to its holster on his hip. He stood and threw back his shoulders, frowning. 

"You run along," he said, straightening his coat. Nisha looked up at him with her big curious eyes. Yondu turned his attention away from her, toward the console. She stood and walked away, but kept looking over her shoulder. He knew she'd be back on the bridge, huddled in a corner or under a console somewhere to watch the goings on.

"She's a smart one," Gef stated. Yondu laughed at that.

"A few more years on her and I might consider recruiting her," he said, grinning. The crew laughed. More than likely, they didn't realize he was serious.

 

As they walked toward the usual meeting spot, Nisha had her head hung. She'd been sullen the whole way down from the _Eclector_.

"Chin up, youngin'. This is your daddy. You'll be happy here," Yondu said, glad comms were off.

"I'd rather stay with you," Nisha muttered. "Can't I be a Ravager, too?" 

Yondu laughed.

"Nah, kid, you don't want that," he said.

"Yes, I do!" Nisha said, her head snapping up. 

"Hush," Yondu said, maybe a little more harshly than he meant to. The girl's enthusiasm threw him off. She dropped her head again. Yondu set his jaw, not wanting to admit that he was tempted to let her have her way.

Ego was waiting for them as usual. His orange eyes mirrored the girl's. He smiled widely and held out a hand, but Nisha looked up at Yondu first, waiting for permission. Yondu nodded and nudged her forward.

Nisha walked toward Ego slowly, as though he were her executioner rather than her father.

"My darling daughter! I'm so happy you could finally come to be with me. I hope this old pirate didn't give you too much trouble?" Ego laughed loudly. Nisha glared at him.

"I _liked_ being on the spaceship," she said insistently. "I want to be a Ravager when I grow up."

Ego looked alarmed. His eyes snapped up to meet Yondu's. The Ravager captain held up his hands in a peaceful gesture. If this kid got him killed...

"Easy, this ain't my doing, Ego. She liked my ship an' my crew all by herself. She's a sharp one," Yondu said.

Ego studied him for a moment, then knelt down to look Nisha in the face.

"My precious offspring. Don't you understand? You belong here, with me. You are meant for so much more than common pirating," he said softly. Nisha gave an unsure glance to Yondu, then looked back into Ego's eyes. She nodded slowly.

"Okay," she said. Her voice was quiet, but yielding.

Ego smiled and stood. 

"Thank you again, Yondu," he said, indicating that the transaction was complete.

Yondu hesitated. He had that going south feeling again. But what could he do? A job's a job. 

"Nisha, you be good for your Daddy, y'hear?" He said.

Nisha nodded but wouldn't meet his eyes.

Yondu took a breath, straightened his shoulders, then turned to walk back to his skiff. He held up a hand in farewell. The whole walk back, Yondu felt orange eyes burning into his back.

 

"I sent in drones. I'm curious about the core of the planet. They're gonna take a peek on the inside and send information back," Static said, pointing to a few of his screens. Yondu nodded.

"Let me know what you find out," he said.

"Sir, if I find anything... what are you plannin' to do?" Static asked, moving his braids out of his face for the fiftieth time during this conversation. Yondu grimaced.

"Just want to make sure these jobs are a good fit for my crew," he said.

"That girl..." Static started. Yondu's eyes narrowed a fraction. He casually flicked his coat out of the way. Red light glowed from the arrow at his side. 

"What girl?" He snarled, narrowing his eyes at the man.

Static paled. He held up both hands.

"Nevermind," he said quickly.

That was the end of that.

 

It was only a few weeks before Ego's next call came in. There hadn't been two jobs this close together. Something about this one was different. This time he was a pale peachy kind of guy with _luxurious_ hair.  But he looked distracted; upset, even. 

"Double your usual fee for this one," is how Ego started out. "His mother is dying. I want this one _now_."

Yondu's eyebrow twitched upward, but he nodded. 

"Fine," he said. "Where are we headed?" 

Ego reached out for an off-screen console. In the background, Yondu's keen eyes spied Nisha peering around the corner. She looked...thinner. But it could have just been the transmission quality. Her orange eyes were fixed on him, drilling into him like she was trying to tell him something. It was unsettling. 

Information filled the screen, obscuring his view of the girl. Yondu focused on his next pickup. This one was a small one, the youngest they'd picked up yet. Most of them were at least 10 standard years old. This one was about eight. He was from a primitive place called Terra. The image of the boy showed a shrimpy kid next to a laughing woman. He had thick blonde hair, but she didn't have any. She looked weak already, but her smile wouldn't have let anyone know that. Yondu had seen enough illness and death in the cages to know what it looked like when someone had one foot in the grave and was pretending they didn't. 

"What's so special about this kid?" Yondu asked, looking away from the image. "What makes this one worth double?" 

For a moment, Ego looked like he was about to snap at Yondu. His eyes flashed dangerously, but he checked himself and sighed. Anger became sadness. Yondu noted both reactions and wondered which one was true.

"Terra was . . .one of my favorite places. And the boy's mother was also one of my favorites," Ego said. "It was very, very hard to let her go. But I did what I had to do, and soon she'll be gone. Now the boy..." Ego trailed off. His eyes were hard.

"Yeah, yeah," Yondu said. He found Nisha's eyes again. She shook her head slightly, eyes wide, sending pinpricks down his spine. He took a breath. _This arrangement is off._ He didn't say it. Double fee? It was a lot of money.

 

It was only three jumps to this Terra place, but they had to wait for an away team to complete a job nearby to rendezvous. Yondu had enough time to think about Nisha's eyes watching him, and Ego's strange behavior. He'd been in this game long enough to know that something was wrong. This whole set up might have been a mistake. But it was a _lot_ of money. And he didn't have any proof. Just gut feeling. Nevermind that gut feeling was what often made the difference between success and failure. It was still no reason to drop a high paying job. 

Yondu's absent crew members returned right on schedule with the crates of alloy and other electronic parts wanted by their buyer. They set course for Terra to pick up the kid; they'd hit the drop point on the way to Ego's. A normal mission eased his troubled mind for a while. Just business as usual. But the peace didn't last long.

 

The transmission came while Yondu was asleep. The private console in the Captain's quarters lit up and let out a few sharp beeps. Yondu slept light--in his line of work, he had to. He woke immediately. Not many people contacted him at his private console. Usually only other Ravager captains, which _usually_ didn't mean anything good.

Yondu pressed a few buttons, but instead of Stakar or one of the others, Nisha's small, frightened purple face filled the screen. She was looking over her shoulder. Sweat beaded on her forehead.

"How the hell did you contact me?" Yondu blurted. Nisha jumped, then looked at him. Relief replaced the fear, but only for a moment.

"Captain Yondu, please, please come get me right now. Please!" Nisha whispered, her voice high.

Ice dropped down Yondu's spine.

"Why? What's wrong?" 

"I can't make the light and he's mad. Really mad. He keeps trying to put the light in me instead and it _hurts_. I can't do it. Please let me be a Ravager like you instead, Yondu. _Please_!" Luminescent tears dripped down the girl's cheeks.

"Slow down. What's he doin' to you?" Yondu asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his arrow stir to life on the table near his bed, a sure sign he was agitated. He took a breath to get control and it settled. 

"He says I'm not enough like him. And there's something else! You said there were others. Brothers and sisters. But no one else lives here. _Nobody_. Just me and him on the whole planet and I can't get away. There aren't any ships anywhere. Please come for me. He's going to know I called you. Please hurry!" Nisha begged. She looked over her shoulder again and reached for the console in front of her. 

The transmission cut suddenly. Yondu stared at the blank screen, eyes wide, heart pounding in his chest. What was Ego doing with these kids? What did Nisha mean by "make the light"? And what the hell had happened to the other kids that Yondu had delivered? He had a very bad feeling about this.

The comm lit up just then.

"Captain, we're here. We've located the boy." 

Yondu took a deep breath, then another. He shook his head to clear it.  

"Go ahead and pick him up. I'll be on the bridge momentarily," Yondu said once he knew his voice would be steady.  

 

Moments later, Yondu walked onto the bridge as a small boy was transported into the middle of his crew. The boy was screaming at the top of his lungs. He was crouched on his knees, arms over his face. The men on the bridge were looking ready to beat him senseless. A few had their hands over their ears, scowling. 

"Hey, you cut that out, boy," Yondu said, kneeling down in front of the kid and shaking his shoulders.

The boy stopped screaming and settled into a frightened sob, breath hitching every so often. He lowered his arms, then opened his eyes and took Yondu in. Confusion, pain, and fear were reflected in those green eyes.

"Better," Yondu said, standing up. He looked down at the kid. The tears running down his face only reminded him of Nisha. He growled at nothing in particular and turned away.

"Take him to his bunk," he said out loud without looking. 

Kraglin took the kid by the shoulder and led him off, sensing his captain's mood. The kid kept looking back at Yondu over his shoulder.

The rest of the crew looked at Yondu expectantly. Their captain didn't move, but stared into nothingness thoughtfully. For a moment, no one spoke. 

"Captain?" Someone said.

"Set course for the drop point. First things first," Yondu said. He strode from the room without further comment.

_Please come get me._

 

Back in his own quarters, Yondu traced the last call he'd received. Nisha may have been smart enough to figure out how to contact him, but she didn't know enough to know how to hide her trail, which was fortunate for him, though maybe not for her. For a few long minutes, he stared at the screen without doing anything.

It's none of his business-he didn't get his name as one of the 100 Ravager captains for rescuing kids or giving a shit about anyone else. 

But at the same time...

Yondu put the call through. It was pure training that ensured he didn't flinch when Ego's face appeared. The Celestial's eyes were guarded as he gave Yondu a smile. 

"Yondu! Is there a problem?" Ego asked, voice full of false pleasantry.

Yondu sat back in his chair with a bored expression. Another day, another con. This wasn't the first time he'd had to play politics with a client. 

"I should ask you the same thing. Missed a transmission from you, looks like," Yondu said, shrugging. "No recorded message."

"Hmm, I didn't send out any transmission. Must be something faulty in this console. I'll look into it," Ego said. He appeared to relax slightly. So he'd been concerned that NIsha had completed her transmission. That gave credit to the girl's plea, at least.

"Ah, no harm done," Yondu said with a winning smile. "Say, my crew's been askin' about that girl we dropped off. She was always underfoot around here. How's she been settling in? No more talk of being a Ravager, I expect."

Ego shook his head. 

"Unfortunately, she did not settle into life here," he said. "Most unfortunate. This life isn't for everyone, I suppose."

Goosebumps rose on Yondu's arms.

"We could always take her on here," he offered casually. "She had a head for it." 

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Ego said. "She passed on. Couldn't get accustomed to the climate. I can't change my climate because she took more to her mother. That would hardly be fair." Ego shrugged, as if what he were saying were perfectly logical. 

It was like being slapped by something very large. A dim, vague echo of a voice Yondu barely remembered sounded in the back of his mind, matching Ego's tone. _"I'm afraid I can't afford this one. How much are you going to give me for him? Hmm. That's not a lot. I was hoping for more. Oh well. I knew he was worthless. I'll take what I can get. Damn_ _shame, though."_  

 _"Please come get me!"_ Nisha had been fine only an hour ago. "The climate" was bullshit and Yondu knew it. If Nisha was dead, it was at Ego's hands. But why? 

 _Speak. Stay casual. Do not let Ego see this._ Was it instinct or Stakar's voice kicking in? Either way, Yondu breathed in slowly and held his breath for a few seconds, until he was sure it would be steady. He arranged his face into a sympathetic mask.

"That's too bad," he said, as if commenting on the weather.

"The boy's arrival will ease the loss," Ego said. "Have you found him?" 

Yondu thought quickly.

"Now, you took us by surprise there, Ego. We have other clients waitin' on us. Other jobs. Your boy is gonna have to wait," he said, shaking his head.

"I don't think you understand--" Ego started, but Yondu knew this game all too well. Very few people could run a power play on Yondu Udonta. No matter how old or big this guy might be, he wasn't one of them.

"No, I don't think _you_ understand my line of work. You're off bein' a planet or whatever the hell it is you do, and we have payin' clients who put their jobs in first. I ain't your slave, Ego. You're gonna have to wait your turn, just like everybody else," he said sharply.

White light glinted like lighting from the corners of Ego's eyes, then vanished.

"Well I might just take my business elsewhere, then," he snapped.

Yondu laughed dismissively.

"You do that, Ego. You do that," he said.

It would be fortunate for Yondu if he did. 

 

"You still getting data from your drones?" Yondu asked Static in his hidey-hole minutes after ending his transmission with Ego. Part of him was really hoping the drones would reveal some sort of "Press here to Self Destruct" button that would let him easily kill Ego. 

"Haven't checked in for a while. Let's see what they've got," Static said brightly, pushing trash from his right-hand console. He tapped at various things for a few moments. His screens whirred to life.

"What..." Static's yellow eyes widened.

"That--" Yondu spat several curses in various languages, slamming the side of his fist into the wall.

"Sir, what are we looking at?" Static asked slowly. 

"Ego played me for a fool. Not this time. Never again," Yondu growled. Static stared at the cavern full of bones on the screen.

"Captain...are those...is that..." He stammered, the connection forming. 

Yondu put a hand on his shoulder. 

"This ain't good, son. If anyone finds out, we'll be in a whole heap of trouble. Can you get rid of the drones?" Yondu asked.

"Y-yeah, of course," Static said. 

"Do it," Yondu commanded. Static pressed a few buttons and the feeds disappeared.

"It's done," he said, still sounding dazed. 

"You were a good kid, Static," Yondu said softly. 

"C-captain?" 

"Can't have anyone knowin' about this, can I?" Yondu's voice was full of regret.

A soft whistle was the last thing Static heard. 

 

"Change course!" Yondu called the moment he got back to the bridge.

"Change course? To where?" Loose asked, blinking behind his goggles. 

"Anywhere but Ego's planet. Pick somewhere we can lie low for a while," Yondu said. "As soon as we finish the drop, we've gotta head underground for a little bit."

"But Captain, what about the job?" Brute asked. "We don't let a job go unfinished."

" _Forget_ the job. Ego played us dirty and I don't like that. We're never doing a job for him again, y'hear?" Yondu snapped. There were murmurs, but no one spoke against him. 

"Captain...what are we gonna do with the kid?" Kraglin asked. 

Yondu hesitated. The kid. He couldn't deliver the kid to Ego. That wasn't an option. Should they just take him home? Drop him at some orphanage somewhere? At this point, his brain was still bogged down with comprehending everything he'd just learned and trying to make sure an insane celestial being didn't come after them.

"I'll think on it," he said finally.

 

The kid was curled into a corner of the bunk Kraglin had given him. He clutched a small metal box in his hands. He wore a band on his head with two fuzzy yellow things that covered his ears. The band had a cord running out of it that plugged into the metal box. Every so often, a small shudder wracked him and a tear would make its lonely journey down his small face. Both eyes were swollen from crying, but one sported a pretty nice bruise. So did the knuckles of one of his hands. Maybe he had a bit of fight in him after all. 

Yondu watched him for a while before sitting down next to him. The kid jumped, almost dropping the box. Yondu reached for it curiously, but the kid held the box tighter to his chest.

"Don't touch it!" He yelled. 

"Hey, easy. Just want to know what it is, that's all," Yondu said. The kid pushed the band down around the back of his neck and blinked at Yondu. 

"It's my Walkman," he said flatly. 

"What's it for?" Yondu asked. 

"Music," the kid replied, frowning as if Yondu had asked him a stupid question. Yondu bared his teeth momentarily before checking his temper. He nodded, as if that made perfect sense. 

"What's your name, kid?" Yondu asked. 

"Peter. Peter Quill," said Quill, sniffling. "And you're Captain Yondu. Kraglin told me."

"Did he, now?" Yondu frowned. "What else did he tell you?" 

"That you weren't gonna kill me, probably, if I stayed right here," Peter said, leaning back further into his corner and eyeing Yondu warily, as if he might change his mind. Yondu laughed.

"I'm not here to kill ya," he confirmed, then paused thoughtfully. "This time."

Quill's eyes widened for a moment, then he looked down at his box. His Walkman. When he looked up again, he had a different expression on his small face. He met Yondu's eyes with the look of someone who was used to being lied to, and was ready to ask a question he wanted the  _truth_ for.

"Um. Are you...are you my dad?" Quill asked, voice quiet. Yondu stared at him, mouth hanging open slightly.

"Now why in the hell would you think that?" He replied.

"My...my mom said that when...when _it_ happened, my dad would come get me. That he came to her in a bright light, like the light that beamed me up here. She said my dad was from the stars, and that he'd come get me," Quill's voice got stronger as he went on. "She's...it happened. And you took me right after that. So are you him or not?"

Yondu stared at the kid, conflict raging inside him. After what happened to the girl and what he'd seen on those screens, he was almost willing to claim it, just to keep him away from Ego. In the far back of his mind, he saw another skinny kid begging to be claimed. It made him angry with that asshole _planet_ all over again.

"No," he said to Quill. "I ain't your dad."

"Then why did you take me away?" The boy asked. His little knuckles were white around the Walkman. Yondu was surprised at how fierce his voice was. It reminded him of Nisha anew: _Yes, I do!_ He ignored the question he didn't have an answer to.

"You get in many fights, boy?" Yondu asked instead.

"Sometimes, I guess," Quill said, but he wasn't interested in discussing it further. 

"I want to go home," he insisted instead, eyes dropping to his Walkman again.

"Well, too bad. We're a few jumps away from Terra now an' we have jobs to finish. This ain't a taxi service. Guess you're stuck with us for a while," Yondu said, shrugging. 

 _Until what?_ His brain asked. This, he continued to ignore. Quill, however, he couldn't ignore. The kid had paled and started breathing faster and faster. Yondu watched him warily. The hell was happening? Was the kid going to explode? Do Terrans do that? 

"I _have_ to get home. Please, you have to take me home right now," Quill begged, eyes starting to go wild. 

"I don't _have_ to do anything I don't want to do," Yondu snapped. He'd had about enough of being told what he _had_ to do by children.

Quill flew at him with a savage yell, small hands grabbing at his face. Yondu threw himself backward and caught the small boy, holding him at arms length. Quill still managed to give him a good scratch with the edge of his Walkman. The kid threw blows without any form or forethought, powered on pure rage. Even so, any blow that landed wasn't soft. The kid was strong.

"What the _hell?_ " Yondu yelled. 

"Take me back! She _needs_ me! Please, take me back to her! She's all alone! I have to go back! She needs me!" Quill screamed the words between mangled syllables.

"Who needs you? Stop trying to hit me, dammit!" Yondu growled. He flung the boy backward where he crumpled into the side of the bunk, curling around himself.

"You don't understand! They're going to put her in the ground all alone! I didn't=I didn't take her hand. She asked me to and I didn't do it. Now she's gone and It's my fault! I have to go back, please!" Quill sobbed. "I don't want them to put her in the ground and be alone forever!"

 _"His mother is dying,"_ Ego had said. The boy was talking about his mother. His mother was gone, his father was more than likely going to do to him whatever he did to Nisha and all those other kids under the surface of the planet. The kid literally had nowhere to go. But what use did Yondu have for this mess of a being? This wasn't his problem. Every option was a loss.

Yondu stood and looked at the sobbing puddle of Terran child curled in the corner of one of his bunks. This wasn't anywhere near his field of expertise. His face burned where the stupid Walkman had scratched it. The more he looked at this pathetic infant, the angrier he got.

He sighed and made to grab the kid and throw him in the main cell until he could stop being a hysterical mess. But he hesitated. Somewhere, in a place in his own mind he never touched, a metal door slammed shut and a small Centaurian boy screamed his throat raw, then curled into a frightened ball on the dark, cold floor and sobbed until dawn. He growled, baring his teeth. He spat a string of curses. He cursed his own parents, he cursed Ego, he cursed his own damn mind...he cursed violently enough that the boy sat up to look at him in surprise. He doubted the kid even knew what any of those words meant, but the tone of his voice got his attention.

For a few moments, Terran and Centaurian looked at each other blankly. Quill took a breath as if he were about to start in again.

"Ravagers don't cry," Yondu snapped, leaning in. His arrow twitched at his side.  

"What?" The word fell out of Quill's mouth. The kid looked surprised about it. 

"You heard me," Yondu said, then turned and walked away, leaving a very confused child behind him. Once he'd turned the corner, Yondu turned and slammed his fist into the wall with all his might, letting out an angry roar. Two Ravagers walking down the corridor jumped out of his way, eyes wide. 

"Shut up," Yondu snarled, continuing on his way. If they stared after him, he didn't turn around to find out. His right hand throbbed, focusing him back to the task at hand. The first thing he needed to do was get this drop settled and then get his people off the grid. He hadn't forgotten that he'd terminated a contract with a _celestial_ and stolen its son. In retrospect, this could have been a very dangerous decision he'd made.

 

Yondu kept getting double-takes on the bridge. Gef let his gaze linger a moment too long when Yondu all but shoved him out of the helm. He wanted to fly for a while. Flying always gave him a sense of freedom, which was the best feeling of all.  

"What?" Yondu barked the word, looking down at his crew.  

For a long time, no one answered. This day was starting to get ridiculous. Finally, Kraglin cleared his throat and motioned to his face. Yondu frowned at him. The Xandarian's eyebrows raised and he repeated the motion. Yondu touched his own face in the same spot and felt a thin line of sticky liquid. Right.  

 _It has been a very long day_ , is what he did not say.  

"Is the cargo ready for the drop?" He asked instead.  

The men on the bridge looked at each other.  

"You better make sure it is!" Yondu said. He made some adjustments at the control panels. "We're gonna land in under an hour and I'll be damned if we're anything but professional and orderly to finish up this job." 

 

Though he never addressed it with his crew, Yondu cleaned the blood from his face just before landing. Yeah. Kid definitely had some fight in him. If they could get him to stop crying, maybe he could be useful. 

Yondu shook his head. Then again...a kid was a liability. He wasn't a damn nanny, after all. He was one of the Hundred. As he walked casually toward his client, a cocky grin slid across his face. _This_ was what he did. 

"Udonta. You have what I asked for?" The tall reptilian being hissed as he approached.  

"T'Krech. It's been a long time. How's the wife?" Yondu greeted the reptilian cordially. T'Krech stared him down, tail flicking impatiently. 

"We aren't here to make pleasantries with Ravagers," he said. Yondu shrugged.  

"That's too bad. We're mighty pleasant. Ah well. The payment?" He met the reptilian's yellow eyes pointedly.  

"I have not yet seen the goods we're paying for," T'Krech replied. 

Yondu didn't respond to this. He didn't have to. He just smiled and folded his hands in front of him, head high. For a few tense moments, they stared each other down, waiting to see who would dominate this transaction. T'Krech's tail gave his agitation away. Finally, the reptilian held up a clawed hand. A smaller reptilian produced a case, which T'Krech opened for inspection. Yondu's grin widened. As easy as virtual transfer was, there was just something satisfying about dealing in physical units. He turned and nodded at Horuz, who in turn gave the signal for the crew to bring the cargo down.  

T'Krech and his crew eyed the crates greedily as they were placed in front of them. They opened the crates to inspect the tech.  

"Satisfactory," T'Krech said. He closed the case and handed it over to Yondu.

"Likewise," Yondu responded with a nod. 

As Yondu turned to walk away, a slender female reptilian leaned over and hissed something low to T'Krech.

"Wait," T'Krech said. "S'Laa smells something interesting. Have you taken to wife?"

Yondu laughed, turning back around.

"We ain't that friendly, T'Krech. Don't see how it's any of your business. But no. What gave your friend there that idea?" He asked. The female stepped forward, tongue sliding out of her mouth, then back in.

"I smell. . .infant. _Terran_ infant. If it is yours, then we honor our trade agreement and will not touch it. But if you have an infant you would be willing to part with, then we will pay well to eat well tonight," S'Laa purred.

Well. That would be an interesting solution to his problem. Get rid of the kid without a trace and earn some unexpected units for his trouble? It was almost too perfect. For a moment, Yondu considered it.

_Are you my dad?_

Yondu sighed inwardly. No, he knew he couldn't do it. He'd sent enough kids to their deaths unintentionally. He couldn't do this one willingly. Kid hadn't done anything wrong...just been born to the wrong asshole. Of all people, Yondu couldn't fault him that. He shook his head.

"You're mistaken. Ain't got none of that lyin' around. Besides, I don't deal in kids. None of us do," Yondu said firmly. "You know this."

"S'Laa is never mistaken," T'Krech said, raising his head.

"There's a first time for everything," Yondu said. A low whistle brought his arrow to his side. "Or does S'Laa need proof?" He sent the arrow coasting almost lazily toward S'Laa. He smiled at her obvious alarm.

The other reptilians backed away from the female. Her eyes dropped to the ground.

"I was mistaken," S'Laa said. Yondu gave her a close look before nodding and calling his arrow back.

"No harm done," he said. "Pleasure doing business with you folks."

 

He turned his back on them, signaling to his men to head back toward the ship. He thought he caught a glance of a small figure racing around the corner of the ramp, but he couldn't be sure.

As the _Eclector_ began its journey away from the drop point, Kraglin caught up with Yondu.

"Captain, why didn't you hand over that boy to them snakes?" He asked.

"We ain't in the business of sellin' kids. You know that," Yondu replied flatly.

"Ain't that what we been doin'?" Kraglin frowned.

Yondu wasn't in the mood for this.

"What's your point?" He snapped.'"

"It's just...we've got cargo we don't need and you ain't said what we're gonna do with him," Kraglin said. "Would've been easier to just let 'em eat him."

"Ain't your job to think about that, Obfonteri. But you did just volunteer to make sure that kid gets fed tonight," Yondu said. He walked away, signaling that the conversation was over.

 

Yondu did what he had to do back in his quarters. He made sure the spoils from their job were distributed properly. He set the next course for one of their lesser frequented hideouts, creating an itinerary for repairs and upgrades as something of an excuse. But no matter how many captainly tasks he completed, Yondu's mind kept drifting back toward that kid. Finally, he decided to handle the situation like any good Ravager. He went down to the main deck to drink with his crew.

As Yondu approached the main deck, he could hear drunken shouts. Sounded like a brawl of some kind. Not really surprising. Business had been going pretty smooth (as smooth as it ever does for a Ravager) lately. Some of the more fighty crew members tended to get restless when they hadn't had any skirmishes in a while. As long as things didn't get too out of hand, he didn't mind them blowing off some steam.

Their captain was met with cheers when he sat down in his chair. Only one face paled. Kraglin. Never a good sign. It either meant he'd done something or allowed something Yondu wouldn't particularly like. He beckoned the Xandarian over. To his credit, Kraglin brought a glass with a decently strong drink in it and handed it to his captain.

Yondu drank deep from the glass.

"So. What's the sport tonight?" He asked. Kraglin licked his lips and turned toward the crowd in the middle of the room. Yondu followed his gaze and the glass slipped from his fingers.

Young Peter Quill, bruised, dirty, and with a huge gash on his forehead was sitting on the shoulders of one of the meatier brutes. The large man had scratches up his cheeks and was currently trying to remove Quill from his head. Quill, however, had his hands tightly around the man's dirty black hair and was not letting go. The more the man pulled, the more damage he did to his own head. Quill's legs were also locked around the man's neck. Both were yelling at the top of their lungs.

Yondu leapt to his feet. Within seconds, his arrow had parted the crowd. He removed the tiny Terran (still yelling), from the now-abashed looking man. He held Quill off the ground by the back of his plaid shirt. He shook the boy until he stopped screaming. The arrow remained pointed at the man.

"Anyone mind tellin' me why I came down to spend some quality time with my boys to find them fightin' a baby? And _losing_?" Yondu yelled. "You want to tell me what's goin' on, Arik?" The arrow moved closer to the large man's face.

"He charged me, Captain," Arik said.

"Yeah? He's what, a tenth of your size?" Yondu held the boy up with one hand for emphasis. Quill let out an annoyed growl.

"He took my Walkman. I _need_ it," Peter said loudly. "Put me _down_."

"Hush, boy," Yondu said, giving him another shake. "That true, Arik? You thievin' from people on my ship?"

"It was just for _fun,_ " Arik started.

"Oh yeah, sure. It's fun," Yondu nodded sarcastically. He glared around at the rest of the men. "We ain't called a _clan_ for nothin', boys. Steal from anyone you want, except your crewmates. Understood?"

"Are you sayin' this brat is _crew_?" Arik stared at the small, peachy Terran. 

Well. Why the hell not? Sure as hell would put a stick in old Ego, wouldnâ€™t it? Yondu hadn't missed the horrified look on his face when Nisha had suggested it. Besides, a lesson needed to be learned here. Yondu didn't tolerate back-stabbing on his ship. Good, healthy brawls were one thing, but you get men plotting and thieving among themselves and you'd find yourself with a mutiny before too long.

"And why not? We have a vacancy needs fillin'," he said out loud with a disinterested shrug. The gathered men looked at each other.

"We do?" Arik asked stupidly.

"Yours," Yondu said, red eyes narrowing. Arik didn't have time to do more than take in breath before the Yaka arrow entered his skull. The men all took a step backward. Quill let out a strangled, surprised yell, covering his mouth with both hands.

Yondu whistled his arrow to his side where it spun obediently, dripping with Arik's blood and brain matter. Quill craned his head to stare at it. Yondu ignored him and stared his men down, holding the kid up higher. Quill kicked his legs, struggling for release, but Yondu's grip was too strong.

"This here is Peter Quill. Unless you want to join Arik there, y'all want to see to it that this runt to grow up into a big strong Ravager like the rest of us. You understand me?" Yondu called. He was met with blank stares, confusion on some, and outright disgust on others. Only one face held a knowing grin.

"But Captain, ain't that boy a payday?" Horuz asked skeptically. Yondu raised an eyebrow and whistled his arrow up to spin just in front of the man's face. Horuz nearly went cross-eyed staring it down. In Yondu's left hand, Peter Quill stopped struggling.

"Not anymore. We ain't doin' business there anymore. Besides, if this little runt can give a big brute like _him_ trouble, we might yet get our payday out of him," Yondu said. Horuz nodded and Yondu released him.

"Any other questions?" He asked. No one else spoke up. Yondu let the silence weigh on his crew for a moment, looking around before calling his arrow back. He set Quill down on the ground. The boy's hands came up in a sloppy fighting stance. Yondu crossed his arms over his chest, amused.

"Go get your toy from Arik," he commanded. "I'm giving you the win, so you have the right to the spoils."

Quill looked at Yondu, then at the corpse on the ground. He looked back at Yondu and shook his head, eyes huge.

"If you're gonna be a Ravager, you can't be goin' squeamish at the sight of a dead man. You'll see plenty of those," Yondu growled. "Search him. Now."

Looking a bit green, the small boy tentatively approached Arik's body and began searching gingerly through pockets until he found what he was looking for. He put the black band around his neck and clipped the Walkman to the waistband of his pants. Having gotten what he came for, Quill backed away from the body with a relieved slump.

Yondu rolled his eyes and relieved the dead mean of no less than three knives and a pistol, as well as some odds and ends.

"These are yours to do with what you want," he said, tossing them at the boy's feet. Quill picked them up carefully.

"Someone take out the trash before it stinks up my ship." This was directed at the onlookers. Yondu began walking from the room, catching Quill by the arm and pulling him along. He pinned Kraglin with his eyes, indicating that the Xandarian should follow.

"Uh, Captain Yondu? I don't want to be a Ravager," Quill said when they were in the corridor. "I just want--"

"Yeah, to go home. You mentioned that. Well, tough shit. I ain't takin' you there. And if you don't want my boys to eat you, you're gonna do exactly what I tell you," Yondu barked. There was a clatter as Quill dropped one of the knives.

"E-eat me? Why do they wanna eat me?" The boy asked, voice a mite too high.

Yondu rolled his eyes again and took a breath to explain, but stopped. He grinned and turned to Quill.

"They ain't never tasted Terran before. Think you might go good with supper," he said wickedly. "But you do what I tell you and that won't happen. Got that?"

Quill swallowed hard and nodded. Yondu chuckled to himself. He met Kraglin's eyes, finding an amused grin on the boy's face.

They stopped at the bunk Quill had previously occupied--no more than a cubby near the mess where they let visitors sleep. Yondu ordered him to put his things in his bag. He'd be bunking down in the crew's quarters. Each man got a small "room" about as big as a twin sized bed and enough room for a weapon locker and a few cabinets for personal effects. Most of the time, half the crew slept in drunken heaps on the main deck, but that was besides the point.

Quill's things were strewn across the bunk. As he gathered them, Yondu pulled Kraglin aside.

"What the hell happened?" He asked in a low voice.

"Brought the kid food like you said and the kid was cryin' because Arik and some of the others roughed him up and went through his stuff," Kraglin said, shrugging. "I told him how we do things around here and he didn't waste no time. Went runnin' off down the corridor to take 'em on."

Yondu raised both eyebrows and glanced at the kid, who was flattening out the pages of a few brightly colored books with great care before sliding them int his bag.

"Let me get this straight. You told that tiny boy to go take on Arik?"

"No sir. I told him if things ain't goin' right, we don't cry about it, we do somethin' about it. Quill thought about it for a minute, then said he was gonna go get his thing back and ran off to do it before I could stop him," Kraglin clarified. He paused for a minute. "He tell you how he got that shiner? Said he took on a bunch of other kids because they were pickin' on a frog. Dunno what that is, but he said there were about six of them and he didn't care; that frog didn't do nothin' wrong, so he thrashed 'em."

Yondu liked that. He only had one more question.

"Out of everybody, you didn't look surprised when I said we were keepin' the kid," Yondu said casually. "I've got half a mind to wipe that smug look off your face. What made you think I was keepin' him?"

At this, Kraglin grinned, mischief playing in his eye.

"Well, you kept me, didn't you?" he said, shrugging.

Yondu frowned. Boy was getting' too big for his britches.

"Take him down to Arik's bunk. Help him clean it out and tell him the rules. See if you can fit this kid with somethin' respectable to wear. And for the love of god, Kraglin...keep him from getting in any more fights tonight," Yondu ordered.

"Yes sir," Kraglin said, giving the Ravager salute without losing that stupid grin. "And Captain...I'm mighty grateful you _did_ keep me."

 

Yondu returned to his quarters where he poured himself a whiskey and turned on his monitor to watch Kraglin ordering Quill around his new bunk.

 _You kept me_.

Quill was fighty, but he was small and stupid, still. Yondu supposed all kids were that way when they were that small. He had no idea of knowing. By the time he was eight standard years, he could put together a Kree battle rifle in his sleep, fix a number of standard military vehicles, and had already marched on two planes of battle. All he'd known until Stakar and the others had showed him a different way of life.

Yeah, he was keeping this kid. Maybe, just maybe if he did the thing okay and the kid grew up to be a good, strong Ravager, he'd make up for all those kids that didn't make it. For Nisha and the others. At the very least, Yondu could keep him away from that bastard Ego.

Had to count for something, right?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for finishing this fic~ 
> 
> Please let me know in the comments whether this is trash or whether it would be worth continuing as a series of shorts about Peter and Yondu through various adventures. 
> 
> Shorts would very likely include but not be limited to:  
> -Baby Peter's first mission, where Yondu realized out what the benefit of having a small skinny kid is when it comes to thievin'  
> -Some battles with Ego's assassins probably  
> -Yondu has to introduce his kid to his dad (Stakar)  
> -Peter learns how to fly a spaceship  
> -This really fluffy Father's day piece  
> \- More of Big Brother Kraglin (because let's all be honest, they're not that far apart in age, and they COMPLETELY have that relationship) 
> 
> Soooo yeah. Let me know. And for those in the know, HOPEFULLY Algernon will be out soon.


End file.
